Bronze worm-gear mounting



J. W. WHITE, JR. BRONZE WORM GEAR MOUNTING. APPLICAHON FILED MAY 28, 1919.

Patented-July 11, 1922..

E E T I a SHEETS-SH a m 5 Il J I l T Ill! m N H v ...%N w m .6 m w 1 NW JfWfWHITE, JR. BRONZE WORM GEAR MOUNTING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY28,1919. 1,422,512, N J Patented July 11,1922.

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N 4 v 4 7/ UN H ray-M; 1! H I I N km 1 I fnvehtart John Wl Vhite. Jr;

J. w WHITE, JR. ERONZE WORMGEAR MOUNTING. APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, I919.

Patented July 11, 1922.

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INVENTOR NED TM e reNT troun- W.WHITE,' an, 01 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA;

Badnzawomeete nausea-m;

citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, iiithe countyof Alameda and Stateof-Galifornia hayeinvented new and useful improvements in Bronze VVorm-Gear Mountings, of which thefollovving isaispe'cificat'ion; v t I This invention relatesto gearing and more partlcu'larly to" a differential gear ng tor motor vehicles, tracthrs or thelike;

"that of th'e liubor weld, such as'a bronze ring gear and a steel hubor Web. Considerable difficulty,has,-liowever; been encountered in securingthe Worm ring gear to the hub or. web, due to thefact that the rivets or bolts by which the ringge'aris secured w the web have a tendency to break or shear. This is"caused distortionpf the bronze ring gear" in relation to the Web When the ringgear is heated by the driying Worm; and'also to sudden load shocks and road vibrations. 1

One of the objects of the present inventionis to secure the ring gear to the Web in such a manner that no strain will be thrown upon the rivetswhich secure it to the Web, and'in such a manner as to overcome thetendency of distortion when heated by thefriction of the driving Worm.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a novel form of spline lock and mounting Whichcarries the torsional load transmitted' to the ringgear and which permits the gearw'eb to forma unit housing constru'ction for the differential gearing, the

parts forming the unit co-acting one With the other to adequately support an'dretain al'lparts in their proper relativepositions, which is not only important from an assemblystandpoint, but also has direct advantages in regardto lightness of construction,

and. the' assistancef of each part in general to strengthen and position the mating parts.

Further obj ects will hereinafter appear and objects relating to economics of manu- :factu're andidetails of constructionand assemhly;

lThefinvention 'consists'ofth'e parts and the" construction an'd"combi'nationf of parts Specification of Letters Patent.-

PatentedJ'uly 1 1, 1922.

application fi1 ed'1llay 28, 191s; shain stokes.

as: heriaaaeamor f lly described and claimed, haying reference to the accompany- 111 drawings, in Wh1Cht 1 p 1" is a side elevation l of the differ'en tia'l gearingpartly' in section.

is a transverse section of the" differentlal gearlng. up i Fig. 3 1s a side elevation of the Worm ,rin gear, and

hig. 451 across section of the same. Fig. 51s asectlonsimilar to Fig. 2' and additionally showing the" outer housing and earner forsupport ng the differential gear- 111 in said houslng.

himilarreference numerals rererm similar "parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings in de'tail, A indic"ates; ingeneral5 the? differential the 'Worm ring gear forming part thereof; and

3 aud t, the differential gears and pinions. By referring to Figs. 1 and 2; it Will be seen that the differential" Weh' consists of two section'sas 'shownatjoand 6. These sections are secured together means of r1vets7, or other su table means, and togetlfel tlleyj form a housing for the differential gears and pinions as hereinafter explained. Each section is provided with an extending bearing hubB aridj an annular 'peripheral'flangeQ forthereception of the wo rmringr gear B. Formedon the inner and formedon the periphery of the flange shoyvn at 9 are a series'of semi-circular l y on onejsidefof an inwardly projecting rim '12 formed on the ring gear B are a series of'key grooves 13 for the reception ofth'e keys or splines 11. In actual practice Whenassemhling the determinant can readily be" seen that the ring gearB is first placed in position'on the fiange 't9 of thehousing section 6, it being-"retained in position on the said flange by the annular inwardly projecting seating rim '10. Thegearsg and 3 andthepinions 4 are nextpl'aced in position, an'd the housing section fi is thenapplied' The splines then applied, completing the structure] By referring a; Figsi 1 2, it "can readily be seen that the entire torsional strain transmitted to the worm ring gear 13' is taken up by the semi-circular splines or teeth 11, and that, practically speaklng, no strain is transmitted to the rivets 7, as they 5 do not pass through any portion of the ring gear, but merely through the'flanges 9 and 9 of: therespective housing sections. Distortion due to the heat created by the friction of the driving worm'is also overcome,

10 as the ring geariB is free to expand or contract without transmitting any strain to the rivets 7. g

It must be noted that the pinions 4' are mounted on studs 14; projecting radially 1 from a centerhub 15, said studs being shown as four in number, and received in .sockets 16 formed in the sections 5 and 6 whereby the studs and the center hub are securely held in positionwith the pinions 4 on said 20 studs, and further, the hubs of the gears 2 and 3 project outwardly and have a bearing asat 1 6 in the sections 5 and 6.' The general arrangement of the sections 5 and 6,

forming as they do the web of thering gear,

2 5 are thus reinforced a second arrangement and pinions are enclosed and retained in their proper 'workingpositions in a most secure and eflicient' manner w th the several v 7 .bearing surfaces thereof each arranged to co-act with the other, whereby thenecessary parts are reduced to a minimum and the thrust and torsional strains efliciently equal- 'i'z'ed;

Now referring to Fig. 5, 17 indicates the usual bowl casting for housing the differen- 4 tial gearunit, and 18, the opposed axle housings extending therefrom in which the axle sections 19 ar'e'suitably journaled. The bowl 1? is provided with a seating flange 20 for seating the carrier orcover 21, the cover beingalso provided with a cooperating seating flange22. Bolts23 secure the cover'to the bowl. On the inner wall of the cover are provided a pair of downwardly extending arms 24: and in the lower ends of which the hub bearing portions 8 of the differential ho'using sections 5 and 6 are journaled by ballbearings 25. The upper part of the carrier or housing is semi-cylindrical in shape and adapted to house the "worm driving gear-indicated at 26. The shaft carrying'said-gear is suitably journaled by ball bearings in'the end walls of said semi-cylindrical housing, portion of the carrier, one of the ball bearings being iserted from' eith er end intothe correspondindicated at 27.- 60 Ears 28 are provided on the cover, whereby,

ing extending bearing hubs 8 and the splined hubs of the differential gears 2 and 3; thus said shaft ends further serve to support the extending hubs 8 and the hubs of the differential gears 2 and 3 in proper alignment and running position.

Several important advanta es are obnot only an advantage from an assembly standpoint butalso lightness of construction and the assisting of each part, in generally strengthening and positioning the cooperating parts. Many difliculties of assembly and operation are entirely obviated by the structure shown,an d a more rigid substantial structure and mounting is obtained with fegi er parts than has heretofore been poss1 e.

, While the mounting is here shown as applied to a diiferential, Lwish. itunderstood that other applications of the invention are equally feasible, and that the materials and finish of the several parts. employed in the application thereof for different uses may be such as theexperiencej and judgment of the manufacturer may dictate.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is a V 1. The combination with a two-piece differential housing, of an annular flange carried by each section of said housing, and an annular seat member formed oneach flange and of a diameter les-svthan the same, of a ringgear adapted to be received by said and, embraced by the said flanges, a series of spline members formed on the circumferential edge of one of the flangeimembers, and recesses formed in the side of the ring gear similar in number and location to the spline members for the reception thereof to secure the ring gear from circumferential movement'about the housing. 2

2. The combination with a two piece sectional differential housing. of an annular seat member formed on each housing section, a gear adapted to be receivedbysaid seat members and supported thereby, an annular flange carried by each housing section adapted toembrace the sides of thegear andsecure it against lateral movement on the housing, means for securing the two housing sections together, a series of splinemembers formed circumferentially ofoneof the housing sections, and a series of key or rspline grooves formed in the side of the gear for the reception of the spline to secure the gear against circumferential movement about the housing sections.

3. The combination with a two-piece sectional differential housing, of an annular seat member formed on each housing section, a gear adapted to be received by said seat members and supported thereby, an annular flange carried by each housing section adapted to embrace the sides of the gear and secure it against lateral movement on the housing, means for securing, the two housing sections together, a series of interspaced spline members formed in the peripheral flange of one of the housing sections, said splines being semi-circular in cross section, and a series of similarly shaped key or spline grooves formed in the side of the gear for the reception of the splines to secure the gear against circumferential movement about the housing sections.

4. The combination with a two-piece sectional differential housing, of an annular flange member carried by each section of said housing, a gear adapted to be secured between said flanges, an inwardy projecting rim on said gear, the lateral dimensions of said rim being less than the face of the gear and adapted to ass between the flanges, an annular seat member less in diameter than and carried by each housing flange for the reception of the rim, means passing through the annular flanges of the housing sections to secure the said sections together and to clamp the rim of the gear between the flanges and on the seat members, and spline members formed at the circumscribing edge of the flanges and in mesh with corresponding recesses formed in the side of the gear above the rim, to lock the gear against circumferential movement between the flanges.

5. The combination with a two-piece sectional differential housing of an annular flange member carried by each housing, a gear adapted to be secured between said flanges, an inwardly projecting rim on the gear adapted to pass between the flanges, an annular seat member carried by each housing flange for the reception of the rim, means passing through the annular flanges of the housing sections to secure the said sections together, and to clamp the gear between the annular flanges, a series of interspacedspline grooves formed in the rim of the gear at one side thereof and a series of splines formed on the outer circumferential edge of one of the flanges adapted to enter the spline grooves on the gear to secure the same against circumferential movement between the flanges.

6. In combination with a differential assembly comprising an outer housing formed in two sections and a differential gearing unit, of annular flanges formed onadjacent faces of the sectional housing, annular seating members formed on each flange and of a diameter less than the same, a ring gear comprising a toothed rim having an annular rib of a less lateral dimension formed centrally of and projecting inwardly from the inner face of the rim, the said annular rib adapted to seat on the seat members and be embraced by the annular flanges, a series of recesses formed in the rim at one side thereof above the rib. a series of spline members formed on the circumscribing edge of one of the flanges and like in shape and location to the recesses in the gear so as to engage the same. and lock the gear from circumferential movement between the flanges, and means passing through the flanges and securing the same together and clamping the annular rib of the gear.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN W. WHITE, JR.

W'itnesses H. A. MCMILLAN, L. H. GAYLORD. 

